Samsung teams up with luxury watch makers to create new Gear S3 concepts

Samsung has revealed three new concept devices derivative of the Gear S3 in partnership with luxury watch designer Yvan Arpa.

Even the most cutting-edge smartwatch concepts still feature the idea of a timepiece clinging to someone’s wrist – but now Samsung, in partnership with luxury watch designer Yvan Arpa, has revealed three new concepts that take the former company’s Gear S3 wearable in new directions.

Presented at BaswelWorld, a tradeshow where top watchmakers gather to strut their stuff, Samsung and Yvan Arpa took the wraps off three new concepts; a skeleton watch, pocket watch, and an ultra-premium edition of the timepiece.

While the latter variant shows off the Gear S3 in some brand new (and presumably very expensive) clothes, the former two show off some bold ideas.

The ‘skeleton watch’ concept describes a traditional Gear S3 which features Swiss-made movement and visible workings, while the ‘pocket watch’ concept includes a physical compass on its lid and an exposed mechanism on its back.

While it is unlikely that we’ll ever see either these concept devices hit store shelves around the world, the revelation of the products hints that Samsung is prepared to contest luxury watch markets with the Gear S3.

Given that the wearable sports a closer look to more mainstream luxury watches in comparison to its predecessor, the Gear S3 (in either its Classic or Frontier variants) closely contests the Apple Watch Series 2.

Given that Apple has retreated from the premium wearable market – killing its gold-plated Apple Watch Edition in the process – it remains unclear if the South Korean brand will contest the arena Apple left behind.